Tying machines for packages and the like



May 2, 1961 M. H. JONES 2,982,199

' TYING MACHINES FOR PACKAGES AND 'r1-1E LIKE Filed Aug. 25, 1955 5 Sheeis-Sheet 1 vwl/11111.

May 2, 1951 M. H. JONES 2,982,199

TYING MACHINES FOR PACKAGES AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 25, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INI/EN TOR MAUR/CE #0l FlP JONES HTTOR/YEYS May 2, 1961 M. H. JoNEs 2,982,199

TYING MACHINES FOR PACKAGES AND TEE LIKE Filed Aug. 25, 1955 5 sheets-sheet s //Y VE N 70A MAUR/Cf Hozfa .7o/vis May 2, 1961 M. H. JONES 2,982,199

TYING MACHINES FOR PACKAGES AND THE LIKE 9 wff HTTOP/YEVS May 2, 1961 M. H. JONES 2,982,199

TYING MACHINES FOR PACKAGES AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 25, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 .By mu/ States .TYING MACHINES FOR PACKAGES AND THE LIKE Y Maurice Holford Jones, Birmingham, England, assigner to Leo M. Harvey and Lawrence Harvey, trading as The Hamac Company, Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Aug. 23, 1955, Ser. No. 530,097 y Claims priority, application Great Britain Aug. 26, 1954 4 claims. (cl. 10o-z8) This invention 'relates to typingY machines vlfor binding packages and the like 'with a ilexible metal element of the kind in whichthe'end portions of the metal element are secured by being twisted together by means of a,

slotted pinion.

In such machines in forming a loop Varound the package the end portions of the metal element intersect and continue beyond the point of intersection to grippers which'apply tension to the loop before it is tied. The point of intersection occurs naturally at one end of the grippingportion of the slotted pinion as can be seen in Figure 9 of U.S. patent specication 2,307,219.V With round wire as the metal binding element theV crossing of the wire is largely absorbed in Vthe twist formed by the rotation of the slotted` pinion but, especially with oval wire or a narrow band tying element, formed for example by flattened wire, can result in a defective tie; Except where the context requires otherwise the term wire is used in this specification for convenience'to refer to metal binding elements of wire of round, oval, flattened or other section or strip.

It is an object of the present invention to 'provide meansV by which this intersection is caused to occur at a` point away from the slotted pinion and the overlapping determined by a finger located to one side of the slottedpinion and so arranged that overlapping portions of the wire are brought into position on oppositeA sides of the linger either during the formation of the loop or by movement of the nger. A still further object of the invention is to arrange the wire so that the nger is moved into position in the path,V

of the wire being trainedV around the Yobject after rethre'ading of the tie-forming means, to lie between the intersecting wire.

Yet a further object of the invention is to providevfor the positioning of the finger in the path of the wire being trained around the object by engagement with the wire being re-threaded inthe tie-forming means.

Another object of the invention is to providerthat thev finger engages the free end portion of the wire during re-threading of the slotted pinion and deflects it towards the object being tied and is engaged by the loop while the wire is being trained around the object being tied and deects it away from the object being tied.

It is yet another object of the invention to providefan automatic tying machine for training a loop of ilattened wire or band around an object andrsecuring the ends by twisting them together in superposed face-to-face relationship.

`Further objects of the invention will become apparent ice 2 invention in a tying machine of the kind disclosed in Patent 2,307,219 but which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures l and 2 are respectively a plan and fragmentary elevationof the modied parts p of, the tying machine according to U.S. Patent 2,307,219.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the right hand gripper shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figures 4 and 5 are an elevation, partly in section, and

a plan of the gripper shown inv Figure 3.

Figure 6 is. an enlarged view partly in section of the tying machine showing a completed tie.

Figure 7 shows a modified separator for the overlapping Wire ends. Y

rFigure 8 shows a finger which appears near the lefthand gripper in Figure 2.

Figures 9 to 13 are fragmentary views taken in a direction looking to theright in Figure 2 of modified components illustrating stages in their operational sequence.

The modification of the machine disclosed in Patent 2,307,219 which is illustrated in the present specification enables packages to be tied with flattened wire that is to say wire which is initially of circular cross-section but is subsequently rolled into narrow strip with smooth rounded Iedges.,v The general construction and operation of the modified machine is similar to that of the machine of Patent 2,307,219 to which reference may be made for details of4 unmodiiedkpartst Wherever appropriate, parts of the modiiied machine in the present specificationv bear the same reference numerals asthe correspondin partsin U.S. Patent 2,307,219. y

Both the basic machine and the machine modified in accordance with the present invention comprise generally a supporting trame 10, a ring 11 rotatably mounted on the ,frame 10, wire training means v12 on the ring 11 engagi'n'g "a wire W to wrapor train the wire about an object or package B when ythe ring is rotated, gripping means Y 14`and 15 for gripping vthe wire W, tie-forming means 115 betweenthe gripping means 14 and 15 operable to twist or formfa tie in ythe wire W, means 17 for separating the wire W'durin-g the tie-forming operation and for ejectingfhecompleted tie from the means 16, means 18 for'shiftmg and controlling the gripping means 14 to tension the wire W on the object preparatory to the tying operaton'and to re-thread the wire W at the completion o f the tying operation.

.f Additionally the modified machine comprises finger mechanism 300 to be interposed between the free end oty they/1re held byr the gripping means 14 and the adjacent V portion of Vthe loop to locate the crossover of the wire at a point VVoutside the slot ofv the tie-forming means 16, and Vfork members 301 on veach side of the tie-forming means 16fto hold the ends of the overlapping portions of thel loop closely togetherat each end of the twisted tie y and to` co-operate with the separating means 17 with fr@ .the ,ensuing desrirtioa Qf Aan embodiment -of' theV a which they co-operate to sever the free wire parts at the endsof'thetie,` Y Y The linger mechanism 300 comprises a member 3024 pivotally mounted about an axis parallel to that of the tie-forming means7 16'by a pin 303 on a part 304 rigid with the supporting frame '10. A `forward extension 305-on the member 302 projects generally tangentially to a crclegcentred on the pivotal axis of the member' 302. lWhen the member 302 is unrestrained, this extension 305 Vis downwardly aswell as forwardly inclined,

" l Patented May 2, 1961 able to the position shown in Figure in which the extension 305 is substantially horizontal.

A shoulder 307 projecting at the root end of the extension from the radially outward side is parallel but rearwardly staggered or rebated with respect to the forward edge 308 of the portion of the member 302 immediately below the extension in order to displace the intersecting wire portions so that they can pass' each other edge to edge without twisting as shown in Figure 8. The forward edge 308 forms in effect a shoulder projecting from the radially inward side of the extension near the root.

The wire-receiving slot -8 of the slotted pinion 157 has a rather more widely flared mouth for attened wire than is normal for round wire and its width is somewhat greater than the double thickness of the wire in order to receive the overlapping portions in superposed faceto-face relationship as shown in Figure 11 and to allow some freedom of movement but naturally this Width of the slot is very much less than the width of the wire in order to be able to twist the overlapping wire portions together.

In the machine described in Patent 2,307,219 the separating means comprises separators 170 on each side of the slotted pinion 16 for insertion between the ends of the over-lapping wire portions to provide reaction members against which the wire is twisted by the slotted pinion. The separators also have cutting edges which shear the wire against fixed cutting blades when the separators are retracted. In the machine modified in accordance with the present invention and for use with iiattened wire the separators 170 are retained to sever the wire on completion of the tie but instead of shearing the flattened wire against fixed blades, the cutting edges co-operate with shear edges 313 of the fork members 301 which are slidably mounted in a manner similar to the separators 170 and are coupled together by a yoke 309 and operated by cams 310, 311 mounted on the shafts 76 and 78 respectively to advance the separators 170 into engagement with the overlapping parts of the wire and subsequently retract them.

The fork members 601 perform the function of reaction members previously performed by the separators 170 and for this purpose limbs 3,12 of 'eachy fork are widely displayed at the ends to provide a lead to engage the ends of the overlapping wire portions as` the fork is advanced and Iguide the overlapping portions into a narrower slot 314 between the limbs which grips them closely together while the tie lis formed.

The separators 170 taper laterally towards the adjacent fork member 301 (Figure 7) so that,'as'shown in Figure 2, the overlapping wire portions can lie close together to pass through the Vslot 3 14 but are more widely'separated on the sides remote from the tie-forming means 16. Wire is cut by shearing action between upright edges 315 on the separators 170 and the Shear edges 313 on the fork members upon retraction vof the'separators 170.

Since the pointA of intersection of the loop ends ofV the wire occurs away from the twister pinion,'therefore, as.

can be seen in Figure 2 on the lefthandv side of the tieforming means 16, it is the upper of the overlapping portions which must be cut while on the right-handl side it is the lower portion. The separators are shaped accordingly, that on the left-hand'side having its upright edge 315 extending upwardly as shown in Figure 7, that on the right-hand side downwardly.

The second gripper 15 is also modified. Instead of having a movable jaw which grips the wire between its forward face and a rearward'face on the body it `has a jaw 316 (Figures 3 and 4) pivoted to the body 100 l of the gripper by a pivot pin 317 and grips the wire between an upper face 318 and a downward face of an anvil insert 319 fixed to the body 100 by screws 320. The wire is held with its major axis horizontal. A comi surfaces 323 on the jaw.316 and 324 on the body 100 are engaged by the roller `322 when the link 116 is moved towards the gripper 15 and separated to move the jaw 316 to the closed position.

The sequence of events in the operation of the modified machine is similar to that of the machine of Patent 2,307,219 and is brieliy as follows. In the rest position of the machine the free end of the wire is held in the gripper 14 and has already been threaded into the slot 158 of the pinion 157 through which it extends to the wire training means 12. A box B to be tied is placed in position on the supporting frame 10. The operator starts the machine by a manual control. The ring 11 is lirst caused to rotate once about its axis causing the wire-training means 12 to form the wire W in a loop around the package B. Up to this point the operation of the machine is the same as that of Patent 2,307,219. As the ring nears the end of its single revolution the wire W at the supply end of the loop is brought against the underside of the extension 305 causing the extension to deect the wire and causing the crossover of the ends of the loop to occur at a point X (Figure 2) between the gripper 14 and the iinger mechanism 300. The supply end of the loop enters the downwardly directed slot 158 and is superposed on the wire portion previously inserted. The overlapping portions then lie face-to-face as shown in Figure 11. The operation of the machine then continues as in Patent 2,307,219. Upon completion of the single revolution of the ring 111 the tie-forming operation is caused to begin. The second gripper 15 is advanced just before the ring 11 completes its revolution and receives the supply end of the wire between its open jaws which are then closed as already described to grip the wire. The first gripper 14 holding the free end of the wire is then moved to the left (Figure 2) by its controlling and shifting means 18 to increase the tension of the loop and the separators are advanced between the ends of the overlapping portions of the wire. At this point -a diierence in operation occurs in the modicd machine for the separators 170 are immediately followed by the fork members 301 which are advanced to hold the overlapping ends closely together adjacent the ends of the slotted pinion. Thereafter normal operation is resumed, the tie is formed by twisting the overlapping wire portions by 4the rotation of the slotted pinion 157. The en ds of the loop projecting from the tie are severed by retracting the spreaders 170 and the completed tie ejected from the slot 158, which at that stage is horizontal and .has its opening forwards, by advancing the spreaders again.

The tying of the package B is now completed but the wire supply has to be re-threaded in the tie-forming means 16 before the machine comes to rest. This operation is identical with the re-threading of the slotted pinion in Patent 2,307,219 except for the effect of the linger mechanism 300. The movable gripper is opened to release the wire tailing, swung forwards Iby angular movement of the rod or carrier 86, shifted bodily to the right across the front of the tie-forming means 16 by axial movement of the carrier 86 and swung rearwardly into position immediately to the left of the gripper 15 so that its open jaws straddle the newly cut end of the wire supply.

The gripper 14 is then caused to close and grip the wire and the gripper 15 to open and release it whereupon the gripper 14 is again swung forwardly, returned to the left across the front of the tie-forming means 16 and swung rearwardly again into its initial position. It is during this rearward swinging movement that the finger mechanism 300 has its effect. Upon ejection of the previously completed tie and the release of the tailing the finger mechanism is no longer restrained and therefore drops forward to the position shown in Figure 9. When the gripper 14 swings rearwardly the wire it holds engages the upper surface of the extension 305. The wire is deflected by the upper surface of the extension 35 until the wire engages the upper forward edge 307. As the gripper 14 swings rearwardly the finger member 302 is also swung rearwardly by the Wire which it assists to enter the now downwardly directed slot 158. When the gripper 14 reaches its normal position the finger member 302 has reached the position shown in Figure l0 with the extension 305 horizontal ready to receive the supply end of the loop, defiect it downwardly and locate the position of the cross-over upon the next wire-training operation as previously described.

After ejection of the tie the spreaders 170, fork members 301 and the right-hand gripper 15 are retracted in readiness for the next wire-training operation.

Since the free ends of the tie and the adjacent portions of the loop are held closely together by the fork members 301 as shown in Figures 6 and 13 and these ends are cut off close to the face of the fork members 301, the cut ends lie safely, close against the adjacent portions of the completed loop.

I claim:

1. In a tying machine, for tying a wire loop trained about an object, a bodily movable first gripper for holding the free end of the wire, a second gripper, tie-forming means spaced between the grippers, severing means for severing the tie from the wire portions held by the grippers, means for operating and bodily moving said first gripper to receive and grip said newly cut portion presented by the second gripper and to return to its initial position to rethread the tie-forming means for the next operation, the final movement of said first gripper means operable to move said newly cut portion laterally'toward said tie-forming means, and finger means between said tying means and the normal positionV of said first gripper for engaging and defiecting saidy newly cut portion towards said object during rethreading of the tying means and for being engaged and causing deflection of said loop away from said object while the loop is being trained around the object, said finger means comprising a member pivotally mounted for angular movement about an axis transverse to said lateral .irection of movement of the wire upon the return of the first gripper to its initial position and having an extension generally tangential to a circle centred upon the pivotal axis of the finger means, opposite sides of which extension are engageable by the overlapping wire portions, and further having shoulder means projecting from the radially outer end of said opposite sides for engaging said newly cut portion moved by the first gripper returning to its initial position and for causing said newly cut portion to swing said extension into position for engagement of the radially inward of said opposite sides with the loop.

2. A tying machine comprising in combination, Wiretraining means for forming a loop of fiattened wire about an object to be tied, tensioning means for tightening the wire loop about the object, tie-forming means for twisting together superposed overlapping ends of the wire loop, fork means on each side of said tie-forming means for anchoring the overlapping ends against twisting, separating means adjacent each of said fork means for separating said overlapping ends and for co-operating with said fork means to cut off excess wire projecting from the ends of the completed tie, means for projecting the fork means into engagement with the overlapping ends of the wire loop before the commencement of the tie-forming operation and for retracting the fork means upon completion of the tie-forming operation, means for projecting said separating means into engagement with the overlapping ends of the wire loop before the commencement of the tie-forming operation, for partly retracting said separating means to cut the wire, for advancing the separating means again to eject the completed tie from the tie-forming means and for retracting the fork means upon completion of the tie-forming operation.

3. A tying mach-ine for tying a fiat metal band about an object comprising in combination a bodily movable first gripper for holding the free end of the band, bandtraining means for training the band in a loop about the object, a second gripper for anchoring the supply portion of the band on completion of the loop, means for supporting the first gripper for bodily movement along an axis and for turning about said axis, means for bodily shifting said first gripper to tension the band on the object preparatory to the tying operation and while the supply portion of the band remains fixedly anchored in the second gripper, tie-forming means spaced between the grippers for twisting together superposed overlapping ends of the band loop, means for severing the tie from the supply portion of the wire, means operable at the completion of the tie for opening the first gripper, for swinging the first gripper about said axis, for moving the first gripper along said axis, for swinging the first gripper about said axis to the second gripper, for swinging the first gripper away from the second gripper, for moving the first gripper back along said axis and for swinging the first gripper back to its initial position, and means for actuating the first gripper while at the second gripper to receive the newly cut free end of the band from the second gripper so that the wire is rethreaded in the tying means when the first gripper swings back into its in.tial position, finger means between said tie-forming means and said first gripper angularly movable about a pivotal axis parallel to said first mentioned axis for engaging the band when the first gripper swings back into its initial position and for being moved by the band into a position in the path of the band being trained about the object such that a portion of the completed loop engages the side of the finger means opposite that in contact with the newly cut end, and are held apart by said finger means to prelocate the cross-over points of said band portions at one side of said tie-forming means.

4. A tying machine according to claim 3 wherein the finger means comprises a member having an extension generally tangential to a circle centred on the pivotal axis of the finger means, opposite sides or" which are engageable by the intersecting band and parallel but staggered shoulder means extending from the opposite sides at the root of the extension for locating the bands to pass one another edge-to-edge without twisting.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,307,219 Harvey Jan. 5, 1943 2,460,846 Schulze Feb. 8, 1949 2,624,375 Schulze Jan. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 615,617 Great Britain Jan. 10, 1949 

